Beginner, Would like to race at Northstar XC this weekend, looking for info

Hello, first post to MTBR after lurking for a while. I would like to try out the XC race at Northstar in Tahoe this weekend. I'm going to be 'that guy' with a camelpak, platform pedals, and baggy clothing but I'm not too worried about that. One issue I may need to fix is my helmet. I still ride my old protect ski/skate helmet, any chance in hell it will meet the helmet requirements? It would just add to the terrible sight of my attire if I included a protec with a gopro clip on top lol. I'm also wondering if you can purchase a single day US Cycling Licence at the registration for $10. Aside from that any good infor would be appreciated. I plan on doing the lowest possible skill class. I only ride for fun and don't train but can do 3000' vertical gain over the course of 7 miles at a decent pace without stopping. No clue what other metric to gauge myself on. What should I expect? I plan on not attacking the start and letting the field sort itself out, no plans but to have fun after that.

"At all times when participating in or preparing for an event held under a USA Cycling permit, including club rides, all licensees who are mounted on a bicycle must wear a securely fastened helmet that meets either the US DOT helmet standards or one of the following standards:

Riders shall show documentary proof of this, such as a manufacturer's label, upon request by event officials. Beginning January 1, 2010, only the DOT, CPSC, and CEN helmet standards will be recognized.

Riders should always be aware of the following:

� A helmet is only effective when fitted correctly for the rider and strapped on correctly.
� Once a helmet has struck an object, it may no longer be adequate to protect the user from a subsequent impact. Such a helmet should be returned to the manufacturer for evaluation or destroyed and a new helmet purchased. Such damage to a helmet may not be evident to the user.
� The helmet rule is in force anyplace in the vicinity of a USA Cycling sanctioned event from the opening of registration to the final awarding of prizes for the event."

I had this issue with one of the kids on the team I coach. He insisted on using a snowboard helmet because it looked cool. But at the end, it didn't meet HS league rules (no full face allowed. That's a strange rule), and we had to scramble to get him another helmet.

Northstar has been pretty tight lipped about this xc series. It used to be on Thursday nights staring first week in July for 8 weeks. With all the Tough Mudder events, concerts, etc. Northstar has had to change it up. I dont know why they have the USA Cycling license requirement, they have never had it in the past, but one day passes are always available. I have raced this series for the past five years and I'm not sure what to expect this year. Usually there are about 50-60 riders spread out in several classes, they start in the village and climb up 6% a bit past mid mountain, then back down to the village usually via Deerpath and Mineshaft. My advice is come out and have fun.

It went well! Was 2nd of 3 in beginners men's 19-34. 3rd was a buddy I convinced to come ride with me and first was a young guy in full UCLA road riding Lycra. My lap was 47:50, the fastest in beginner was like 41ish. Overall had a good time and me and my buddy are going to participate all summer

That turn out was pretty poor, they used to be on thursday nights but they decided to try something different with the weekend races. There was a thursday night series in Reno that had just ended on thursday prior to this race, I know many riders skipped this race just because they hadnt really recovered yet, plus there was a large USA Cycling event in Nevada City. I finished first in Cat 2 45-54, 1:17:38.